THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



sun that is badly needed. Many roads 

 would appeal to the traveler i£ brush 

 and trees were properly cut and 

 trimmed and a sufficient number left 

 for partial shade and a source of 

 beauty. This would also make prop- 

 erty more attractive and more val- 

 uable to the owner. Chapter 145 of 

 the Acts of 1915 gives information 

 relating to these matters. This is 

 riot only our work and playground, 

 but should be the playground of the 

 country. Conditions are thoughts 

 made. Change your thoughts and 

 you will change conditions. Stop 

 thinking that conditions hold you. 

 It is you, holding onto conditions. 

 Stop blaming others and see if you 

 are sailing or drifting. Fill your 

 sails and let your daily voyage spell 

 Service. 



C. E. HODGKINS. 



., DAISY RECORDS 



Claims are always being made that 

 the dairy cow does not pay for her 

 keep. In most cases the one that 

 knocks the hardest is the one that 

 knows the least about his cows. 

 There are very few industries that 

 we could ask the public to pay a 

 profit on that is run so loosely as the 

 dairy business. Guess work is more 

 general than even rough accounts, 

 and it is the rare farmer who can 

 tell accurately what it costs to pro- 

 duce a quart of milk or what it cost 

 to keep a cow a year. It is sad but 

 true that too often the dairyman 

 does not know whether his whole 

 herd is returning a profit or loss, let 

 alone the individual cows in the 

 herd. 



The grain prices have nearly 

 doubled in the last twelve or fifteen 

 years; the price paid for milk has 

 only increased about fifteen or twen- 

 ty per cent, and the average yearly 

 production of milk per cow has prac- 

 tically stood at a standstill. 



It is difficult for the farmer to 

 change grain prices much or to raise 

 the price of milk, but he can keep 

 records and improve the production 

 of his individual cows quite rapidly 

 hy weeding and breeding. The main 

 wants of the dairy husiness are bet- 

 ter cows and larger production, per 

 cow. 



By membership in a cow-test as- 

 sociation, one can get accurate rec- 

 ords kept on individual cows at a 

 less cost than in any other way. 

 Proof of the value of these associa- 

 tions can he found in almost any 

 state we go. For example; in two 

 years testing in an Indiana cow- 

 testing association, the butterfat pro- 

 duction in five herds was increased 

 32.4 lbs. per cow. To show that it 

 is impossible to tell hy guessing or 



estimating the profit on the basis of 

 ♦he amount of milk produced, the 

 following figures taken from the rec- 

 ords of the Connecticut Valley Cow- 

 Test Association shows the difference 

 in feed cnsumed by individual cows 

 i.T fi'.e same herd to produce the same 

 amount of milk: 



In another herd cow No. 4 gave 

 10,272 lbs. milk and 349.7 lbs. fat 

 on 6494 units of feed, this being 

 15S.2 lbs. milk and 5.4 lbs. fat for 

 each 100 units of feed. Cow No. 8 

 in the same herd gave 8616 lbs. milk 

 and 2S1.4 lbs. fat on 4926 units of 

 feed. This was equivalent to 175 

 lbs. milk and 5.7 lbs. fat for each 100 

 units of feed, or 16.8 lbs. milk and 

 .2 lbs. fat more per unit of feed than 

 did No. 4 which had a larger yearly 

 total. 



The following results taken from 

 tiie Norfolk-Middlesex association 

 .■:iiows the variation we find among 

 cows even in good herds. No change 

 is made in figuring cost of produc- 

 ing milk, or labor, taxes, deprecia- 

 tion, etc.. but the comparative results 

 are just as valuable. 



Highest Lowest 



Record Record 



Milk yield 12,495 3,048 



Value at 5c per 



qt. $290.55 $70.85 



Cost of feed $132.96 $94.86 



Balance over 



feed $167.59 $24.01 



Cost of q. of 



milk 0.023 0.067 



Returns for $1.00 



spent on feed 2.19 0.75 



At the present time in the Con- 

 necticut Valley cow-testing associa- 

 tion, there are several cows in the 

 different herds which are making 

 very good records and the men own- 

 ing these cows know to a cent the 

 profits they are making on these 

 cows, each month. Some of the hest 

 individual monthly records made 

 during the past season are as fol- 

 lows: 



Lbs. Milk 



E. T. Wliitaker, Hadley, 1239 



C. W. Ball, Granhy. 1505 



E. D. Waid,' Amherst, 1356 



R. G. Sessions' Farm, Had- 

 ley, 1498 



James McAuslane, East- 



hampton, 1423 



Hugh Bridgman. West- 



hampton, 1381 



Clapp Bros., Easthamp- 



ton, 1257 



Lbs. Butterfat 



E. C. Harlow, Amherst, 62.9 



66.9 



During the month of May there 

 were 16 cows out of the 254 tested 

 that made over 1000 lbs. of milk and 



14 that made over 40 lbs. butter faj;. 

 This is an excellent record. The 

 ou'y trouble is that there are not 

 sncugh dairymen who wish to put 

 their herds on a business basis to 

 keep the association running at a 

 reasonable cost. Enough herds 

 should be available so that the cost 

 per month should be 12 Vic per cow. 

 Why is it that cow-test associations 

 r,tart so slow in Massachusetts? Oth- 

 er states that surround us see their 

 value and have formed 30 or 40 as- 

 sociations as is the case in Vermont. 

 Is it that we are not as progressive 

 or are we more content in keeping 

 the unprofitable cows? 



There should be at least 100 dairy- 

 men in Hampshire County who de- 

 sire to keep accounts other than esti- 

 mates on their cows. If you have 

 an opportunity to join an associa- 

 tion do it for a year and you will 

 wonder how you got along with- 

 out it before. If you think you 

 cannot afford to put all your cows 

 in, at least put in your poor ones. 

 r.y all means, don't enter just your 

 b'^si ones; they will take care of 

 themselves far easier than the poor 

 ones. ' 



DAIRY RECORDS 



Cows in the Connecticut Valley 

 Cow-Test Association, making over 

 1000 lbs. milk or 40 lbs. butter fat 

 for the month of May: 



W. H. Learned, Florence, Grade 

 Holstein & Guernsey, 



Milk Fat 



1112 lbs. 36.7 lbs. 



916 42.1 



Hugh Bridgman, Westhampton, 

 Holstein, 



1272 39.4 



n43 51.4 



James McAuslane, Easthampton, 

 Holstein 



1184 36.7 



1026 42.1 



Clapp Bros., Easthampton, Hol- 

 stein, 



1257 46.5 



W. A. Parsons, Southampton, 

 786 43.2 



1146 56.1 



E. T. Whitaker, Hadley, Holstein, 

 1187 36.8 



1084 34.6 



Mrs. R. G. Sessions, Hadley, Hol- 

 stein, 



1161 41.8 



1082 36.7 



1498 44.9 



1090 28.3 



1096 43.8 



E. D. Waid, Amherst, 

 1115 32.3 



E. C. Harlow, Amhers, Jersey, 

 673 40.4 



